Weight gains through not eating enough?

Is it really true that you can STS or put on by not eating enough food while on SW? I have seen it mentioned on a few threads. I know a lot of people believe in something called "starvation mode" which can cause weight gain, but I did read elsewhere that this is a dieters' myth, as you would need to be eating fewer than 800 calories a day or something to experience this. Does anyone know the science behind the idea that you can lose more by eating more? I did a quick Google and found this article from WeightWatchers, which suggests the "starvation mode" people experience is down to a "binge and bust" mentality, but as obviously they want to promote their own eating plan I don't know whether to trust it:

The Starvation Myth

The less I eat the more I lose, so I'm afraid I don't buy in to the eat more to lose more idea although quite a few people on here have experienced this.
Diets like Cambridge etc that are very low calorie wouldn't work if the starvation mode idea were relevant to us dieters. But that's just because, like you, I've read deeper into the dieting lark and know that some things are just myths.
I do believe though that on SW you should eat everything that you are allowed until you are satisfied and not allow yourself too become to hungry.

I agree, I think the teem "starvation mode" is misunderstood. When you starve yourself your body does not hold on to fat until you increase your food intake and then it compensates by storing it. If you consistently starve yourself then, well, there's nothing to hold on to is there? So it's not so much that starving yourself makes you gain, just that no one can starve themselves very long and as soon as they start eating more, they gain.

Hi. I do also think that on certain plans, such as EE with sW, you do need to eat more - but of SF Foods help digest the carbs and protein. and I course do agree that if you don't eat much for long you will binge..

Hiya, I believe on the starvation mode and the eating more. This is what I understang

Starvation Mode: The standard amout of cals for someone with a healthy weight their body needs to survive is 1500. You can lose weight with less cals for about 2weeks, then normally, your body starts going into starvation mode and you start maintaining the calories you consume.

To keep your weight losses going, you're best eating a varied amount if cals over a week, so your body doesn't get used the cals

The 1500 is just a standard, some people will need less cals to survive on, whilst others need more. This is dependant on your sex, age, height and weight

Now I got to hope that's all right and I don't look like a fool lol

I'm another one who doesn't believe in the starvation mode, but I do believe that the body needs a certain amount of calories to function efficiently that includes to burn fat.

However, I think dropping below 1000 is a big no no and personally wouldn't do it.

I know its an overused analogy, but I think its so true.

A car needs the right petrol to run and if you give a petrol car diesel then it isn't going to work properly.

If you want to make a 30 mile journey and only fill it with 20 miles worth of fuel you are going to break down.

I don't see why that can't apply to humans to.

It's just a little something I like to use to keep me going

I just try to eat until I'm full, even if I've had low syns for the day I don't see the point in eating for the sake if it just to bring up a number.

The same with my dinner, if I'm full before I've eaten my superfree food on my plate I'll still leave it because I am full.

I believe in eating until you are full then you know your body has had the right amount of food.

welshgirl21 said:

I just try to eat until I'm full, even if I've had low syns for the day I don't see the point in eating for the sake if it just to bring up a number.

The same with my dinner, if I'm full before I've eaten my superfree food on my plate I'll still leave it because I am full.

I believe in eating until you are full then you know your body has had the right amount of food.

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Yes, I try to do that too: I did WeightWatchers Core when they still ran it years ago and had a lot of success with that, and the emphasis there was very much on paying attention to the body's signals and only eating until full.

I think that was one of the reasons I didn't stick with my SW group the last time I joined a few years ago: the consultant there was advising us to eat loads, she actually told us we should eat until we felt full to bursting! She showed us what she ate in an average day and it was loads - she brought it all in in a bag and was pulling stuff out of it like Mary Poppins! I really don't want to eat just for the sake of it, I hate feeling bloated and uncomfortably full when I overdo it. I used to have that mindset of needing to clear my plate (like our mummies and daddies taught us we should!), but then I told myself that the food could either go to waste in the bin or go to waste in my body as stored fat which I didn't need, and that stopped me overeating (especially when out: obviously at home I had more control over portion sizes).

I wasn't convinced by the "if you don't eat enough you'll gain weight" thing then and am not now, but I wonder why eating more does seem to result in better losses for some people on these boards? I suppose it must all be to do with feelings of deprivation and bingeing in the end.

Tinsel81 said:

Yes, I try to do that too: I did WeightWatchers Core when they still ran it years ago and had a lot of success with that, and the emphasis there was very much on paying attention to the body's signals and only eating until full.

I think that was one of the reasons I didn't stick with my SW group the last time I joined a few years ago: the consultant there was advising us to eat loads, she actually told us we should eat until we felt full to bursting! She showed us what she ate in an average day and it was loads - she brought it all in in a bag and was pulling stuff out of it like Mary Poppins! I really don't want to eat just for the sake of it, I hate feeling bloated and uncomfortably full when I overdo it. I used to have that mindset of needing to clear my plate (like our mummies and daddies taught us we should!), but then I told myself that the food could either go to waste in the bin or go to waste in my body as stored fat which I didn't need, and that stopped me overeating (especially when out: obviously at home I had more control over portion sizes).

I wasn't convinced by the "if you don't eat enough you'll gain weight" thing then and am not now, but I wonder why eating more does seem to result in better losses for some people on these boards? I suppose it must all be to do with feelings of deprivation and bingeing in the end.

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You're right about that! Maybe also by eating more superfree foods, your fibre increases and of course we know what the result of that is lol!! So that "emptying out" probably reflects on the scale.

I also agree with eating only when you're hungry and stopping when you're full. That really is the most natural way to eat. You don't have to worry about free foods, super free, eating too much/enough/too little or whatever as long as you're eating ntuitively.

Bump, some good points and there is alot of talk about this on the board at the minute. Im not sure I agree with the idea of "starvation mode" as it always seems to be used as an excuse for not following the plan correctly in my experience ie no heX's or v.low syns.